Globalization

Globalization-the integration of the world economy-has ebbed and flowed over the twentieth century. This paper surveys the varying flows of goods, people, and capital around the world. It asks also about the flow of information across national boundaries and the flows of all these various commodities and factors within countries. Goods, people, and capital flowed easily in much, but not all, of the world both at the beginning and end of the century, but not very well for many of the intervening years. Knowledge flows and the integration of domestic and foreign activity have increased greatly over time. The problem for the future is not whether to have globalization, but how to manage it.